James F. Simmons

James Fowler Simmons (10 September 1795-10 July 1864) was a US Senator from Rhode Island (W) from 4 March 1841 to 3 March 1847 (succeeding Nehemiah R. Knight and preceding John Hopkins Clarke) and from 4 March 1857 to 5 September 1862 (succeeding Charles Tillinghast James and preceding Samuel G. Arnold).

Biography
James Fowler Simmons was born in Little Compton, Rhode Island in 1795, and he worked in the yarn manufacutring industry before serving in the State House from 1828 to 1841. He served in the US Senate from 1841 to 1847 as a Whig, and he resumed his former pursuits before returning to the Senate from 1857 to 1862 as a Republican. He resigned after he was accused of securing a contract for two Rhode Island rifle manufacturers in exchange for a fee of $20,000 in promissory notes. He died in 1864.